This evening, UNITER awards

(story to be published in tomorrow’s issue, April 3)

Several hours are left until an event that annually polarises the attention of Romanian theatre fans. The UNITER awards festivity, which, not forgetting differences, has been billed ever since its first edition as an Oscar for the Romanian theatre, this year celebrates ten years. The Excellency award will be granted to producer Radu Penciulescu. Lucian Pintilie, Carmen Stanescu and Lorand Lohinszki will be awarded for their entire artistic activity, a distinction that will also be offered to script writer Emilia Jivanov and to theatre critic Victor Parhon. Writer Saviana Stanescu will be granted the award for best Romanian play of year 1999. The International Association of Theatre Critics will grant the critics’ Award to producer Vlad Mugur and to script writers Helmut Sturmer, Lia Mantoc and Ilona Jaro Varga, for the shows “Slave to two masters” by Carlo Goldoni and “It is so (if it seems so to you) by Luigi Pirandello. The British Council prepared an award for best manager of the last season, while the Romanian Cultural Foundation will offer the “Synergies” Award. In the end, the jury of the UNITER festival for the season 1998-1999 agreed at the beginning of February on nominations for the traditional categories. Thus, distinctions will be granted within sections: “best show,” for which the following shows were nominated: “The Comic Illusion” by Pierre Corneille, produced by Alexandru Darie, staged at the Comedy Theatre, “Slave to two masters” by Carlo Goldoni, produced by Vlad Mugur, at Craiova National Theatre and “One stormy night” by I.L. Caragiale, produced by Mihai Maniutiu, a SMART- Odeon Theatre production; “best producer” (where Alexandru Darie, Vlad Mugur and Dan Puric will compete); “best script”, where Maria Miu, Irina Solomon, Dragos Buhagiar and Lia Mantoc are nominated; “best actor” (the jury opted for Dorel Visan, Valer Dellakeza, Bogdan Zsolt); “best actress” (the favourites are Virginia Itta Marcu, Dorina Lazar, Kitty Stroescu), “theatre criticism” (Julieta ?intea, Magdalena Boiangiu or Doina Papp) and “debut” (nominations: Iulia Popescu, Gabriela Crisu, Gelu Badea). We just have to wait and see tonight who will be the ones to wear the laurels of the current edition.